Haiti Guesthouse Staff

When God opened the door for Tim & I to serve as guesthouse managers at the AWAA guesthouse in Haiti, we saw this as a wonderful opportunity to serve children & families in a unique way. We have now been here for two months and are settling in and enjoying the adventure! We knew that we would be working with several other staff members at the house, but we underestimated the blessing this aspect of moving to Haiti would entail.

We are so grateful for the staff members that work hard to make the house such a welcoming and comfortable place to stay. From the moment you enter the gate, a smile is there to greet you. There is always a helping hand ready and willing to pitch in. We have certainly felt welcomed here and hope that guests feel the same level of care while visiting.

It is so encouraging to hear songs and prayers coming from the kitchen early in the morning, and to hear the cook say that her work is for Jesus – noting how glad she is to be a part of such a great team. We know that God has specifically placed each person here and we hope that as we serve alongside each other that He would be glorified.

We enjoy spending time together as staff practicing our Creole and English, going on walks in the beautiful neighborhood learning the words for the things we see around us, and laughing as we each try to figure out the others’ language.

Every aspect of the house from shopping at the busy outdoor market, maintaining the generator, cleaning the water tank, fixing the water pump, cooking, doing laundry, cleaning, driving and translating is critical to the ministry we do here. Everyone’s unique skills and abilities are put to use on a day-to-day basis and each one is important to making sure we can serve guests to the best of our ability.

All of these details are needed to help the house run smoothly, but more importantly we do not want any logistics to be burdensome to families. We want their focus to be on loving and caring for their new child or serving in various ways throughout Port-au-Prince. The days can be tiring, emotionally draining, and challenging; therefore, when a guest comes home at the end of the day – we hope that this can be a place to be physically, spiritually and emotionally renewed.

We are excited to continue serving adoptive families and mission teams during their time in Haiti. While it’s important to us that a good meal is served, a fan is readily available, and that everyone has a safe place to call home for their time here; it is more important that the love of Christ be present in this home. As guests come and go, our hope is that each one would feel cared for, encouraged, loved, and served whether it be through the meal that’s prepared, the laundry that was washed, a conversation, or a helping hand that was given. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve families as they welcome a child into their family and mission teams as they care for the people of Haiti.